The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is no stranger to this event. Unlike previous years, it will be held virtually.

“As a Festival, we understand the power of food and its ability to bring people together,” said Lee Brian Schrager, Founder and Director, NYCWFF. “The goal has always been to do it in a way that supports the city’s diverse hospitality community and the great work of our charity partners, No Kid Hungry and Food Bank For New York City and that goal is no different this year,” he adds. “The 2020 Festival has been designed to safely meet the urgency and the challenges of the moment while continuing the fight to end hunger and delivering the NYCWFF experience our audience has come to love.” 

The Festival’s virtual programming, NYCWFF Goes Virtual presented by Capital One, offers interactive, cooking and mixology classes bringing consumers into the kitchens and homes of their favorite chefs, bartenders and food personalities, including a plethora of stars from Food Network and Cooking Channel. The classes allow for open dialogue between fans and talent including an interactive Q&A session after each class. Programming includes:

• In the Kitchen presented by Food Network (October 2 – 11): A digital version of the Festival’s annual, signature culinary demonstrations. Each class will be powered by Zoom and guests will join a Food Network or Cooking Channel personality in their home kitchen for a live, interactive demonstration where the host will provide culinary tips and tricks sure to up any attendees culinary skills. Personalities include Giada De Laurentiis, Molly Yeh, Rocco DiSpirito, Jet Tila, Buddy Valastro, Amanda Freitag, Michael Symon, Tyler Florence, Stephanie Izard, Kardea Brown and more!
  
• Cook from The Book (October 2 – 11): A newly launched series will connect attendees with their favorite chef for a hands-on cooking experience with the bonus of receiving the latest cookbook authored by that sessions host. For the series, we will partner with R.J., Julia Booksellers – NYC’s largest independent bookstore. Personalities include Jacques Pépin, Yotam Ottolenghi, Marcus Samuelsson, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Vetri, Hugh Acheson, Thomas Keller, Geoffrey Zakarian, Maneet Chauhan and more!
  
• Beyond Takeout presented by Capital One: Capital One credit and debit cardholders will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets to a unique at-home dining experience. Cardholders will prepare a selection of small dishes curated by a celebrity-chef that are not typically available for takeout, following along with a demonstration via Zoom to make each dish from prep to plating.

A highly decorated roster of chefs anchors the line-up for this year’s Intimate Dinner Series. The series will feature approximately 30 dinners at top restaurants throughout the five boroughs which will allow for locals to support their favorite establishments during the regrowth and reopening phase. Each limited-seating dinner will feature a premium tasting menu highlighting the chefs’ signature cuisines paired with a variety of high-end wines and spirit. Celebrated talent and personalities include Daniel Boulud, Dan Kluger, Einat Admony, Marc Forgione, Rocco DiSpirito, Justin Bazdarich, Costas Spiliadis, Stefano Secchi, Laëtitia Rouabah, Matt Abdoo, Shane McBride, Gabriel Kreuther, Josh Capon, Ignacio Mattos, Michael White, Chintan Pandya, Alex Raij, Eder Montero, Alfred Portale and Manish Mehrotra. The safety of our attendees and participants is our number one priority. All venues will be following and practicing CDC, State and City Guidelines.

To round out the Festival, an Online Wine Auction will offer consumers the ultimate wine tasting experience right in the comfort of their own home! The NYCWFF Wine Gems Online Auction Experience will run for two full weeks from September 28 – October 12. The auction will feature 15 unique wine “experiences” from top wineries around the country and buyers will receive an exclusive package equipped with Food Network branded wine glasses, a selection of premium meats and cheeses from Fratelli Beretta, illy coffee and more!

Festival ticket sales open to the general public are available NOW. Net proceeds supporting its mission to EAT. DRINK. END HUNGER. with No Kid Hungry and Food Bank For New York City.  A complete program of events for NYCWFF are available online at nycwff.org. Stay up to date by following the conversation all year long on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using @NYCWFF and #NYCWFF.